WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of NCDs (NCD Office)
WHO’s European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD Office) in Moscow, Russian Federation, is an integral part of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, within the Division of Country Health Programmes. The activities and products of the NCD Office reflect Member States’ requests for support and recognize the need for health systems and policies to be more responsive to the NCD burden in the Region. The work of the NCD Office is driven by the strategic objectives of reducing the burden, improving equity and increasing participatory governance of health, as defined by the European Programme of Work, 2020–2025 (EPW). The EPW aligns the work of WHO/Europe with the Triple Billion targets, while supporting countries in their commitments to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All.
The NCD Office serves the whole European Region but focuses primarily on countries in the Region with a high burden of NCDs. As the new Action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in the WHO European Region 2016–2025 (adopted at the 66th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe) emphasizes, a comprehensive approach is needed. For example, reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease, the main cause of premature mortality in the Region, requires a focus on risk factors and population-level, targeted approaches across a wide range of issues: tobacco control, alcohol control, reducing consumption of salt and saturated and trans fats, and controlling hypertension. Education and training are an integral component of the work of the NCD Office, raising national capacity, enhancing leadership, promoting intersectoral action and enabling countries to adopt best practices and use international material in the Russian language and Russian-speaking cultural context.
The NCD Office’s work is structured around four main areas: policy, surveillance, prevention and management. These fit neatly onto the four time-bound commitments of the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the comprehensive review and assessment of the progress achieved in prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases: national plan adoption, national target-setting, risk-reduction activities and strengthening health services for NCDs.
